Yamming in East Texas

marjorie says...

As Mikaela pointed out, last week I once again found myself back in East Texas for the annual Yamboree. The Yamboree is a county fair that's been held continuously since 1935 in Upshur County. The county seat is a town of roughly 5,000 people and both sides of my family are from there. I've heard in the past that over 100,000 people show up at the Yamboree at some point or another over the course of its four days. As I've told y'all before, for me its kind of a reunion...I can go home on that weekend and see all kinds of relatives without planning a thing, and I often meet relatives that I never knew before.

I don't know why really, but Maggie and Mikaela have for years tried to get me to dress up as the Yam Queen for Halloween. And actually, that's not a bad idea...these small town "Queens" are kind of appropriate for Halloween.

The Yam Queen...what can we do other than shrug our shoulders and sigh? You see, this girl is always the richest girl in town. The way it works is this...every year a group of girls "run" for Yam Queen, but what they are really doing is seeing who can "sell" the most tickets. Or, in other words, who ever hands over the most cash gets to be the Queen. And the rest get to be Duchesses. They all get to adorn a float in the "Queen's Parade" on Saturday mornings. But the Queen gets to go first of course. So, in essence, the town parades its richest girls on floats every year in the big parade as if they are somehow truly special. What kind of message does this send to all of the other girls in Upshur County...those who never in a million years can even consider being Yam Queen because they aren't from the wealthier families?

This aspect of the Yamboree almost invariably comes up among the family, every year. And at that moment there's a lot of raised eyebrows and shrugging, with the final pronouncement that this is the way the Yam fest gets paid for...what is a town to do?

It's small town charming on the surface, but when you really think about it...well it shows just how grossly classist our society really is. Is that harsh? Perhaps. I figure it sounds harsh to those who never question the rich/poor world we live in, those who just figure that's the way it always has been and always will be. Its probably easier to just go with the small-town charm angle--why ruin an otherwise nice event? That's the implication of the looks many give when you bring it up. And of course it isn't fair to single out the Yamboree...this is a common thing. But that's really it right there...it is common so it should be questioned. And the folks in Upshur County should change how they raise funds for the Yamboree, and how they select the Yam Queen.

I often wonder when I see the Yam Queen ride by on her float if there is actually another girl just a little bit wealthier who just couldn't bring herself to do it...who sees it for what it is. Or is it the case that a year has never gone by that the senior girl with the greatest access to resources wasn't the Queen? In my fantasies, the girl's parents buy her the Queenship with the notion of showing off their offspring so magnificently, and then she insists that the poorest girl in town ride the float in her place. Silly musings I know.

Anyhow...as you can see, one thing I enjoy about going home the third week in October are the always fascinating moments of contemplating class in America afforded by the Yamboree and its Queen. But I would be remiss if I left the impression that East Texas is all about one type of people. In fact its full of a wide variety. For instance, as you can see from this picture of an old truck and its owner...there are even Anti-War, Anti-Factory Farming, NON HIPPIE Liberals there. Yes! That's Right! His front bumper had an Expose Exxon bumper sticker on it. Of course, its a rare thing to see so I did have to take a picture ...nonetheless, something tells me there's an activist progressive underground back home. I just know it...!

Another thing I always enjoy is seeing how things continue to change in East Texas. For one thing, the ethnic mix is changing...rapidly. This has become increasingly evident to me over the past few years. And as you can see, there is an actual Tortilleria on the square now...long gone are the days of the domino halls. It's a new day in East Texas! And the $1.50 you can pay for a big steaming bag of corn tortillas just a few blocks from the house is certainly one very cool outcome for my family. The fellow behind the counter told me it was his very first Yamboree...

As ever, I enjoyed roaming around the square at night taking in the carnival lights and watching the children in my family on the rides. Things were a little slower this year because my dad just had major surgery and is a little slowed down. But we still seemed to never stop going.